2017-2018 CEV YOUTH BEACH VOLLEYBALL CONTINENTAL CUP OFFICIAL COMMUNICATION No. 1a 1. GENERAL INFORMATION The CEV Youth Beach Volleyball Continental Cup will act as the dedicated qualification process for the five (5) European spots to the 2018 Youth Olympic Games Beach Volleyball tournament in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The competition will consist of 2 different phases over a period of 2 years: a Qualification Round to be played during the 2017 season and the CEV Youth Continental Cup Final to be played in 2018, within the timeframe set by IOC. 2. EVENT S REGULATIONS Each National Federation participates with an official Delegation of 3 members per gender, including 1 team composed of 2 players born between 1 January 2000 and 31st December 2003 and 1 delegation member (NF Delegate / Coach).
2.1 DATES AND VENUES OF QUALIFICATION ROUND The Qualification Round will be organised in double gender events organised between June and August 2017. As communicated through the call of interest to organise mail, priority in assigning organisers was given to applications combined with international men/women events organised within the set competition period, aiming to provide the young athletes with the opportunity to also witness the competition and organisational standards of international Beach Volleyball events on a senior level. The seeding into the pools was determined by using the CEV U18 Country Ranking. Following the above principles, a drawing of lots procedure was conducted in the CEV office, producing the following results: Pool A - RUS Moscow, 3-4 June Pool B - UKR Kharkiv, 8-9 July Pool C - TUR Mersin, 29-30 July Pool D - EST 8-9 July (Venue & date tbc ) Pool E - SLO Ljubljana, 21-22 July RUS CZE ITA LTU SUI Pool F - CYP Larnaca, 5-6 August Pool G - HUN Siofok, 15-16 July Pool H - LIE Vaduz, 12-13 August GER POL AUT GRE UKR BLR FRA LAT NOR NED ESP FIN BEL TUR EST SLO ENG SRB SWE ISR (W) DEN ROU POR SVK (W) CYP BIH CRO MON (M) KOS (W) AZE ALB ARM MDA MKD (W) SCO HUN LIE 2.2 COMPETITION FORMAT OF QUALIFICATION ROUND The top 2 ranked countries in each pool will qualify to the CEV Youth Continental Cup Final that will be played in 2018. Each pool will be played through a Round Robin system to allow more games for the participants and equal opportunities to all. The seeding into the pools is determined by using the CEV U18 Country Ranking for the respective gender: - In Pools of up to 5 NFs, all NFs play each other in a Round Robin format and the ranking of teams within their pools will be determined according to the Rules for Pool Ranking in force, as per the CEV Beach Volleyball Competition Regulations. The top ranked NF following the Round Robin qualifies to the Pool final match. The second spot to the Pool final match will be decided by a play-off match between the NFs ranked 2 nd and 3 rd in the Round Robin. - In the one Pool of 6 NFs, these will be divided into 2 groups of 3 NFs each, according to their seeding. In each group all NFs will play each other in a Round Robin format and the ranking of teams within their pools will be determined according to the Rules for Pool Ranking in force, as per the CEV Beach Volleyball Competition Regulations. Following the Round Robin phase a Single Elimination phase will be conducted where the 2 nd ranked team of each group will play against the 3 rd ranked team of the other group in a play-off match. Winners of the play-off matches will face the top ranked NFs in 2 semi-finals. The winners of the 2 semi-finals will play the Pool final match. The final standing of each Pool will be considered for the seeding of the 2018 CEV Youth Continental Cup Final. Page 2 of 7
2.3 REGISTRATION OF TEAMS All deadlines concerning entries are calculated from the start of each Pool. The National Federations are advised to register their teams through the CEV/FIVB Online Registration System (www.fivb.org Login). The username and password is the same as for all FIVB/CEV registrations. The provision of the CEV Player s Commitment accompanied by a health certificate duly signed by the NF and the concerned athlete(s) is the pre-condition set to be tentatively admitted to any of the Beach Volleyball competitions officially recognised by the CEV. Once the aforementioned condition is fulfilled by all parties concerned, the National Federation (exclusively) is required to comply with the following procedures in order to register its players in the competition. The CEV Beach Volleyball Competition Regulations contain the details of the registration procedure. Registration deadline is set to -30 days days prior to the start of each Pool. Additionally each athlete willing to participate shall: complete and sign and have his/her respective National Federation sign and seal the CEV Player s Commitment and Health Certificate for Beach Volleyball players. The form has to be uploaded to the vis2009 system. complete the FIVB anti-doping Education and Certification programme Play Clean. Both the above conditions shall be completed fifteen (15) days prior to the start of the event the athlete participates in and have to be submitted only once per player per season. 2.4 SUBSTITUTION OF A PLAYER No player can be substituted after the registration deadline and the Confirmed List has been published unless in case of injury or force majeure upon approval of CEV. Respective proof/documentation must be presented to the CEV before the start of the Preliminary Inquiry of the respective event. The CEV Beach Volleyball Competition Regulations contain the details of the substitution/withdrawal procedure. 2.5 WITHDRAWAL & LATE ARRIVAL Teams/athletes who renounce their participation in one/several competition(s) have the possibility to withdraw before the player registration deadline. In case of a withdrawal in the women competition up to 60 days before the 1 st Pool of the Qualification Phase, the last seeded NF of Pool D will be moved to the pool left with only 4 participating NFs. In case the withdrawal occurs after the player registration deadline, the athletes/national Federations must respect the withdrawal procedure and regulations mentioned in the CEV Beach Volleyball Handbook. A late arrival to the Preliminary Inquiry/Technical Meeting of the Pool is only possible following the written authorisation of the appointed CEV Technical Supervisor. Page 3 of 7
2.6 RIGHT OF PARTICIPATION OF TEAMS & PLAYERS The right of participation shall become effective as soon as the teams names appear on the Confirmed List established by CEV for each Pool. A team is composed of two players of the same nationality and same gender. A player wishing to take part must possess the nationality of the country with whose national team he/she intends to play and must fully comply with the requirements laid down by FIVB. Only players not suspended by CEV and/or FIVB for the event concerned are allowed to participate. Players wishing to participate in the Competition shall be born from 01/01/2000 the earliest to 31/12/2003 the latest. One head of delegation/coach is considered as Delegation member and is treated accordingly. Additional delegation members such as doctors/physiotherapists are not officially considered as Delegation members, but may be accredited to the event. 2.7 PLAYERS UNIFORMS Each participating National Federation has to provide their players with minimum 2 pairs of uniforms in contrasting colours retaining the right to use their own sponsors on the designated area. Lay-out and sponsoring should follow the CEV Marketing Guidelines as per the Appendix. In case of non-conformity and not using the approved uniforms during the matches, official warm-up and awarding ceremony, sanctions may be issued by the CEV. 2.8 MAKE AND TYPE OF BALLS The ball to be used is the MIKASA VLS 300. 2.9 RULES OF THE GAME All matches shall be played according to the FIVB Official Beach Volleyball rules in their latest edition. Exceptions: Coaching: Following the general FIVB guidelines, the presence of a coach inside the field of play is allowed in all FIVB Underage international competition, and as a result, the same applies to the CEV Youth Continental Cup as well. A detailed document describing the obligation and rights of coaches entering the Field of Play will be available on CEV website in the respective competition webpage. 2.10 ALLOCATION OF POINTS No ranking points are allocated for this competition. 2.11 VISA APPLICATION PROCEDURE Players, Officials, Team Managers, Coaches and National Federations are requested to apply early enough for visas, whenever needed. The hosting National Federation should be contacted to receive an invitation letter for the event. Page 4 of 7
3. FINANCIAL REGULATIONS 3.1 CEV CONTRIBUTION FEE FOR HOSTING NATIONAL FEDERATIONS The organising NFs of the Qualification Round pools will receive by CEV a financial contribution of 5,000- EUR, following the end of the competition and the reception of the relevant Post Event report documents and forms. 3.2 CEV TRAVEL ALLOWANCE FOR VISITING NATIONAL FEDERATIONS CEV will pay a travel allowance for all participating travelling delegations of 200,- EUR per person (maximum of 3 persons per gender); this amount will be transferred to the NFs concerned after the completion of each Pool. 3.3 BOARD, LODGING & LOCAL TRANSPORTATION All official Delegation members will be provided with full board and lodging from the organisers in twin rooms from dinner of the day preceding the event until breakfast of the day after its conclusion, without any contribution fee. Additional delegation members may be accredited for the event but board and lodging conditions need to be coordinated directly with the event organisers and are subject to availabilities. Travelling delegations need to inform organisers about their travel schedule through the CEV respective form (BV-14) regarding the official arrival and departure dates. 3.4 ENTRY & CONTRIBUTION FEE No Entry or contribution fee has to be paid by participating National Federations. 3.5 LICENSES For each athlete participating in any CEV event, the respective National Federation shall pay, upon receipt of the respective CEV invoice, a license fee amounting to 20,- EUR once per season to CEV. 4. FURTHER INFORMATION All necessary information about the competition will be circulated to the National Federations using the and Practical Info documents. Nevertheless more details can be found in the Official Regulations and the CEV Beach Volleyball Handbook, which are available on the CEV website. Additional information concerning the Competition and the registered teams will be published in the respective Beach Volleyball section of the CEV website: www.cev.lu. Please check regularly for news, updates and team lists. Page 5 of 7
5. CONTACT ADDRESSES CONFÉDÉRATION EUROPÉENNE DE VOLLEYBALL 488, route de Longwy, L 1940 LUXEMBOURG Grand-Duché de Luxembourg for Competition aspects Mr. Dennis Passig & Mr. George Gagalis +352-25.46.46.28 / 48 E- beach@cev.lu for Financial aspects Mrs. Sylvie Collignon +352-25.46.46.26 E- finance@cev.lu for Marketing aspects Mrs. Marion Meyers +352-25.46.46.43 E- marketing@cev.lu for Media/Communication aspects Mr. Federico Ferraro +352-25.46.46.37 E- communication@cev.lu Page 6 of 7
Appendix: Players Uniforms Guidelines Page 7 of 7